1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording and/or reproducing apparatus such as a video cassette recorder (VCR) or the like, and more particularly to a reel brake device for a reel mount which causes a tape pulled out from a cassette to travel forward and backward.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional reel brake device, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, one end part of a brake lever 105 is connected to a driving mechanism 104 through a spring 103, and when the driving mechanism 104 is operated, the other end part of the brake lever 105 acts to apply or remove a pushing force to and from a brake pressure contact part 102 of the reel mount 101, so that a braking force onto the reel mount 101 is obtained. For this purpose, the brake pressure contact part 102 is provided on the outer circumferential side of a cylindrical part of the reel mount 101, as shown in FIGS. 9(A) and 9(B).
Meanwhile, a known reel brake mechanism which is different from but resembles a mechanism related to the invention is configured as shown in FIG. 10. According to the arrangement of the known mechanism, the gear-tooth tips 109 of a reel mount 101 are used as a brake pressure contact part, and a brake shoe part 110 is formed by mounting a piece of felt or synthetic leather on a brake lever 105. In applying the brake, the brake shoe part 110 is made to directly come into pressure contact with the gear-tooth tips 109.
According to the conventional arrangement shown in FIGS. 8, 9(A) and 9(B), the brake pressure contact part 102 for receiving a braking force must be provided on the outer side of the cylindrical part of the reel mount 101. Therefore, the reel mount 101 itself inevitably becomes large in height.
Further, in the case of the arrangement shown in FIG. 10, a piece of felt or synthetic leather which is readily deformable is arranged to apply a stopping torque to the reel mount 101 for the purpose of functioning as a lock brake. This arrangement is, therefore, not expected to give a stable braking force with a constant torque.